There are not often moments that Colbert’s character shows any sort of genuine emotion, but this was one of them, and we really don’t think that he could have played it any better. It’s a challenging situation for late-night comedians to be in: you cannot ignore the tragedy, but you must also be cognizant of the fact that so many people are watching you hoping for some sort of escape from the world.

In speaking of escape, the second clip we have below is really not designed to do anything other than try to make you laugh. Russell Brand was on “Conan” this week, and of course this led to some very bizarre riffs all about his personal life, working on movies, and his new obsession with Jennifer Lawrence. He’s a polarizing comic, but we’re not sure that anyone is really sharper or bolder than he is while still maintaining a job on TV.